Biography
Jon Lovitz gained initial fame as a regular on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Lovitz emerged as one of the show's stars thanks to a number of hilariously broad characters including Tommy Flanagan of Pathological Liars Anonymous, the great Shakespearean ham Master Thespian, the Devil himself and a memorable impression of actor-playwright Harvey Fierstein ("I just want to be loved! Is that so wrong?"). Prior to "SNL," Lovitz had done some TV work--a guest spot on "The Paper Chase," a recurring role on the legal sitcom, "Foley Square"--and completed his contributions to several features: "The Last Resort" (1986), "Ratboy" (1986), and a cartoon feature, "The Brave Little Toaster" (1987). With his newfound success, Lovitz became a popular character player in features and a frequent guest on TV. His distinctive and theatrical voice is well suited to animation as both "An American Tail 2: Fievel Goes West" (1991) and his contributions to TV's "The Simpsons" and "The Critic" (for which he voiced the Siskel & Ebert-esque Jay Sherman for two incarnations, the original Fox series [1994-1995] and the Internet-based sequel in 2000) demonstrated. He also voiced Calico, Mr. Tinkles' short-haired cat servant in the animorphic and CGI-laden comedy "Cats & Dogs" (2001). Lovitz's long friendship with actor-turned-director Penny Marshall led to roles in her films "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986), "Big" (1988), and "A League of Their Own" (1992). He was outstanding in the latter as Ernie "Cappy" Capadino, the fast-talking scout who recruits Geena Davis and Lori Petty. Lovitz also landed a key supporting role in Tom Shadyac's "Liar Liar" (1997), starring Jim Carrey. The following year, he accepted a role on the NBC sitcom "NewsRadio." Lovitz was hired to fill the void left by the untimely death of former "SNL" co-star Phil Hartman, playing the obnoxious and insecure Max Louis until the show left the air in 1999. Woody Allen cast Lovitz to great effect as Benny Borkowshi, one of the doltish team of would-be robbers that populated the writer/director's light and amusing comedy "Small Time Crooks" (2000). He had other roles in films, including "Rat Race" (2001) and "Good Advice" (2001), and was put to good use as Bette Midler's husband in the comic remake of the thriller "The Stepford Wives" (2004). Lovitz has remained personally and professionally close with some of his SNL castmates, appearing in various features alongside them, including the David Spade vehicles "Lost & Found" (1999) and "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" (2003), and Adam Sandler's "Little Nicky" (2000) and the animated feature "8 Crazy Nights" (2002).
